Study Desk

Now the LORD said to Joshua, "^(C1)Do not fear or be dismayed. Take all the people of war with you. Arise, go up to Ai; see, ^(C2)I have handed over to you the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land.

"You shall do to Ai and its king just as you did to Jericho and its king; you shall ^(C1)take only its spoils and its cattle as plunder for yourselves. ^(F1)Set an ambush for the city behind it."

So Joshua rose up with all the people of war to go up to Ai; and Joshua chose thirty thousand men, valiant warriors, and sent them out at night.

He commanded them, saying, "See, you are ^(C1)going to ambush the city from behind ^(F1)it. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready.

"Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. And when they come out to meet us as they did the first time, ^(C1)we will flee before them.

"They will come out after us until we have lured them away from the city, for they will say, 'They are fleeing before us just as they did the first time.' So we will flee before them.

"Then you shall rise from your ambush and take possession of the city, for the LORD your God will hand it over to you.

"Then it will be when you have seized the city, that you shall set the city on fire. You shall do it ^(C1)in accordance with the word of the LORD. See, I have commanded you."

So Joshua sent them away, and they went to the place of ambush and remained between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai; but Joshua spent that night among the people.

Now Joshua ^(C1)got up early in the morning and mustered the people, and he went up with the elders of Israel before the people to Ai.

Then all the people of war who were with him went up and approached, and arrived in front of the city; and they camped on the north side of Ai. And there was a valley between him and Ai.

Then he took about five thousand men and set them in ambush between ^(C1)Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the ^(F1)city.

So they stationed the people, all the army that was on the north side of the city, and its rear guard on the west side of the city, and Joshua spent that night in the midst of the valley.

And it came about, when the king of Ai saw them, that the men of the city hurried and got up early, and went out to meet Israel in battle, he and all his people at the appointed place before the desert plain. But he did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city.

Then Joshua and all Israel ^(F1)pretended to be defeated before them, and fled ^(C1)by the way of the wilderness.

And all the people who were in the city were called together to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and ^(C1)were lured away from the city.

So not a man was left in Ai or Bethel, ^(F1)but they had all gone out after Israel, and they left the city ^(F2)unguarded and pursued Israel.

Then the LORD said to Joshua, "^(C1)Reach out with the sword that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will hand it over to you." So Joshua reached out with the sword that was in his hand toward the city.

Then the men in ambush rose quickly from their place, and when he had reached out with his hand, they ran and entered the city and captured it, and they quickly set the city on fire.

When the men of Ai turned ^(F1)back and looked, behold, the smoke of the city ascended to the sky, and they had no place to flee this way or that, for the people who had been fleeing to the wilderness turned against the pursuers.

When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that the smoke of the city ascended, they turned back and ^(F1)killed the men of Ai.

^(F1)The others came out from the city to confront them, so that they were trapped in the midst of Israel, ^(F2)some on this side and some on that side; and they ^(F3)killed them until there was not ^(C1)one ^(F4)left who escaped or survived.

But they captured the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.

Now when Israel had finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the field in the wilderness where they pursued them, and all of them had fallen by the edge of the sword until they were destroyed, then all Israel returned to Ai and struck it with the edge of the sword.

So ^(C1)all who fell that day, both men and women, were twelve thousand—all the ^(F1)people of Ai.

For Joshua ^(C1)did not withdraw his hand with which he reached out with the sword until he had ^(F1)utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.

^(C1)Israel took only the cattle and the spoils of that city as plunder for themselves, in accordance with the word of the LORD which He had commanded Joshua.

So Joshua burned Ai and made it ^(C1)a refuse heap forever, a desolation until this day.

And ^(C1)he hanged the king of Ai on ^(F1)a tree until evening; but at sunset Joshua gave the command and they took his body down from ^(F1)the tree and threw it at the entrance of the city gate, and erected over it a large heap of stones that stands to this day.

Then Joshua built an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, on ^(C1)Mount Ebal,

just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the sons of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, ^(C1)an altar of uncut stones on which no one had wielded an iron tool; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings.

And he ^(C1)wrote there on the stones a copy of the Law of Moses, which ^(F1)he had written, in the presence of the sons of Israel.

^(C1)And all Israel with their elders, officers, and their judges were standing on both sides of the ark before the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, the stranger as well as the native. Half of them stood in front of ^(C2)Mount Gerizim, and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded at first to bless the people of Israel.

Then afterward he read all the words of the Law, the blessing and the curse, according to everything that is written in ^(C1)the Book of the Law.

There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel ^(C1)with the women, the little ones, and the strangers who were ^(F1)living among them.

Now it came about when ^(C1)all the kings who were beyond the Jordan, in the hill country, the lowland, and on all the ^(C2)coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon, ^(C3)the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard about it,

that they met together with ^(C1)one ^(F1)purpose, to fight with Joshua and with Israel.

The inhabitants of ^(C1)Gibeon also heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai,

but they on their part acted craftily and went and took provisions for a journey, and took worn-out sacks on their donkeys, and wineskins that were worn out, split open, and patched,

and worn-out and patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes on themselves; and all the bread of their provision was dry and had become crumbled.

And they went to Joshua at the ^(C1)camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, "We have come from a far country; now then, make a covenant with us."

But the men of Israel said to the ^(C1)Hivites, "Perhaps you are living ^(F1)within our land; ^(C2)how then are we to make a covenant with you?"

So they said to Joshua, "^(C1)We are your servants." Then Joshua said to them, "Who are you and where do you come from?"

They said to him, "Your servants have come from ^(C1)a very distant country because of the ^(F1)fame of the LORD your God; for ^(C2)we have heard the report about Him and all that He did in Egypt,

and all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon and to Og king of Bashan who was in Ashtaroth.

"So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, 'Take provisions in your hand for the journey, and go to meet them, and say to them, "^(C1)We are your servants; now then, make a covenant with us."'

"This bread of ours was hot when we took it for our provisions from our houses on the day that we left to come to you; but now behold, it is dry and has become crumbled.

"And these wineskins which we filled were new, and behold, they are split open; and these clothes of ours and our sandals are worn out from the very long journey."

So the men of Israel took some of their provisions, and ^(C1)did not ask for the ^(F1)counsel of the LORD.

And ^(C1)Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live; and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.

However, it came about at the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they were neighbors and that they were living ^(F1)within their land.

Then the sons of Israel set out and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were ^(C1)Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.

But the sons of Israel did not ^(F1)attack them because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by the LORD, the God of Israel. And the whole congregation grumbled against the leaders.

But all the leaders said to the whole congregation, "We have sworn to them by the LORD, the God of Israel, and now we cannot touch them.

"This we will do to them, even let them live, so that wrath will not be on us because of the oath which we swore to them."

So the leaders said to them, "Let them live." And they became ^(C1)gatherers of firewood and ^(F1)labor to draw water for the whole congregation, just as the leaders had spoken to them.

Then Joshua called for them and spoke to them, saying, "Why have you deceived us, saying, 'We are very far from you,' ^(C1)when you are living ^(F1)within our land?

"Now therefore, you are ^(C1)cursed, and ^(F1)you will never cease to be slaves, both gatherers of firewood and ^(F2)labor to draw water for the house of my God."

So they answered Joshua and said, "^(C1)Since your servants were fully informed that the LORD your God had commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land before you, we feared greatly for our lives because of you, and did this thing.

"And now behold, ^(C1)we are in your hands; do to us as it seems good and right in your sight to do."

This he did to them, and saved them from the hands of the sons of Israel, and they did not kill them.

But on that day Joshua made them gatherers of firewood and ^(F1)labor to draw water for the congregation and for the altar of the LORD, to this day, ^(C1)in the place which He would choose.

Now it came about when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai, and had ^(F1)utterly destroyed it (just ^(C1)as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to Ai and its king), and that the inhabitants of Gibeon had ^(C2)made peace with Israel and were ^(F2)within their land,

that ^(F1)he ^(C1)feared greatly because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were mighty.

Therefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent word ^(C1)to Hoham king of Hebron, to Piram king of Jarmuth, to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying,

"Come up to me and help me, and let's ^(F1)attack Gibeon, for it has ^(C1)made peace with Joshua and with the sons of Israel."

So the five kings of ^(C1)the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered together and went up, they with all their armies, and camped by Gibeon and fought against it.

Then the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua at the camp at Gilgal, saying, "Do not ^(F1)abandon your servants; come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites that live in the hill country have assembled against us."

So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and ^(C1)all the people of war with him, and all the valiant warriors.

And the LORD said to Joshua, "^(C1)Do not fear them, for I have handed them over to you; not ^(F1)one of them will stand against you."

So Joshua came upon them suddenly ^(F1)by marching all night from Gilgal.

^(C1)And the LORD brought them into confusion before Israel, and He struck them down in a great defeat at Gibeon, and pursued them by the way of the ascent to Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah.

And as they fled from Israel, while they were at the descent of Beth-horon, ^(C1)the LORD hurled large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died; there were more who died ^(F1)from the hailstones than those whom the sons of Israel killed with the sword.

Then Joshua spoke to the LORD on the day when the LORD turned the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, "^(C1)Sun, stand still at Gibeon, And moon, at the Valley of Aijalon!"

^(C1)So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, Until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies. Is it not written in ^(C2)the Book of Jashar? And ^(C3)the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hurry to go down for about a whole day.

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There was no day like that before it or after it, when the LORD listened to the voice of a man; for ^(C1)the LORD fought for Israel.

Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp ^(F1)at Gilgal.

Now these ^(C1)five kings had fled and hidden themselves in the cave at Makkedah.

And it was told to Joshua, saying, "The five kings have been found hidden in the cave at Makkedah."

So Joshua said, "Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and post men by it to guard them,

but do not stay there yourselves; pursue your enemies and ^(F1)attack them from behind. Do not allow them to enter their cities, for the LORD your God has handed them over to you."

It came about when Joshua and the sons of Israel had finished striking them down in a very great defeat, ^(C1)until they were destroyed, and the survivors of them who escaped ^(F1)had entered the fortified cities,

that all the people returned to the camp, to Joshua at Makkedah in peace. No one ^(F1)uttered a word against any of the sons of Israel.

Then Joshua said, "Open the mouth of the cave and bring these five kings out to me from the cave."

They did so, and ^(C1)brought these five kings out to him from the cave: the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon.

When they brought these kings out to Joshua, Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the leaders of the men of war who had gone with him, "Come forward, ^(C1)put your feet on the necks of these kings." So they came forward and put their feet on their necks.

Joshua then said to them, "^(C1)Do not fear or be dismayed! Be strong and courageous, for the LORD will do this to all your enemies with whom you fight."

So afterward Joshua struck them and put them to death, and he ^(C1)hanged them on five ^(F1)trees; and they were hung on the ^(F1)trees until evening.

Then it came about at ^(F1)sunset that Joshua gave the command, and ^(C1)they took them down from the ^(F2)trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves, and put large stones over the mouth of the cave, to this very day.

Now Joshua captured Makkedah on that day, and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword; ^(C1)he ^(F1)utterly destroyed ^(F2)it and every ^(F3)person who was in it. He left no survivor. So he did to the king of Makkedah ^(C2)just as he had done to the king of Jericho.

Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Makkedah to ^(C1)Libnah, and fought against Libnah.

And the LORD also handed it over to Israel, with its king, and he struck it and every person who was in it with the edge of the sword. He left no survivor in it. So he did to its king just as he had done to the king of Jericho.

And Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Libnah to Lachish, and they camped by it and fought against it.

And the LORD handed Lachish over to Israel; and he captured it on the second day, and struck it and every person who was in it with the edge of the sword, according to all that he had done to Libnah.

Then Horam king of ^(C1)Gezer came up to help Lachish, and Joshua ^(F1)defeated him and his people until he had left him no survivor.

And Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Lachish to Eglon, and they camped by it and fought against it.

They captured it on that day and struck it with the edge of the sword; and he ^(F1)utterly destroyed on that day every person who was in it, according to all that he had done to Lachish.

Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to ^(C1)Hebron, and they fought against it.

And they captured it and struck it and its king and all its cities and all the persons who were in it with the edge of the sword. He left no survivor, according to all that he had done to Eglon. And he ^(F1)utterly destroyed it and every person who was in it.

Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to ^(C1)Debir, and they fought against it.

He captured it and its king and all its cities, and they struck them with the edge of the sword, and ^(F1)utterly destroyed every person who was in it. He left no survivor. Just as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir and its king, as he had also done to Libnah and its king.

So Joshua struck all the land, ^(C1)the hill country and the ^(F1)Negev and the lowland and the slopes, and ^(C2)all their kings. He left no survivor, but ^(C3)he ^(F2)utterly destroyed all who breathed, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded.

Joshua struck them from Kadesh-barnea even as far as Gaza, and all the country of ^(C1)Goshen even as far as Gibeon.

Joshua captured all these kings and their lands at one time, because ^(C1)the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.

So Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp ^(F1)at Gilgal.